This is the third in a special series on Transitions by guest blogger Rev. Dianne Lawhorn.  Click to read the first and second installments.

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Last week, I left you with three questions for discernment in the midst of your transition.  Where am I now, what do I want, and what is my next right step?

If we aren’t careful, we’ll rush right through these steps, won’t we?  I invite you not to do that today; I invite you to slow down a little bit.  If we rush in, things don’t process as they should, and we get stuck.  I invite you to take a long, slow breath.  I invite you to hold the work that God is doing in you through this season, in prayer.  Prayer helps us to process through these steps well.   Prayer can be the safe container to hold all the emotions of transition, the place where we trust that God will work to bring us through our transition, accompanying us to the other side, where we’ll be stronger and better for it!I was thinking of a biblical illustration that might be helpful for this time in your life.  I kept thinking about the Israelites during the Exodus.  This was a wilderness experience that was pretty confusing for them.  They weren’t sure which way they should go, what they should do.  They had a lot of emotions to process.  Should they move ahead to another place without clear direction or should they stay put?

So, what did they do?  They pitched a tent, didn’t they?  They decided to stay put and wait on a clear direction from God.  They committed themselves to waiting & seeking God’s will.

That may be what you need to do during this time, pitch a tent, and prayerfully wait to discern your next best steps.  Discernment doesn’t happen in our time, it happens in God’s time.  So, don’t rush the process, slow down, pitch a tent- even if it feels uncomfortable to you right now.  God is there for you, you can trust God to show you the way.  When we slow down, this gives God a chance to show up, to lead us into our next phase.  So, we wait, trusting the process, and trusting God to work within that process.

I will borrow the words of that favorite author again as I offer you her prayer for transition:

“I encourage you today, to slowly, move into this new phase of life and ministry.  I pray that your heart be refreshed, encouraged, lifted up, and strengthened by the truth that during this season, you’re not walking in isolation from God.  God is hunkered down with you in the midst of your steps, and he sees clearly the marked path in front of you.  Trust in that abiding, friends, and stick close to the Father.  God has something more for you than currently meets the eye. Most certainly, that something will stretch your faith and shape your soul.”  -Elaine Olsen

May God’s abiding grace sustain us as we journey through the season of transition together! 

-Dianne Lawhorn

Dianne is currently the Minister of Spiritual Formation for the Lydia Group which is a resource for spiritual wholeness offering formational teaching, retreat leadership, and spiritual direction.

Image by Flickr user Geraint Rowland, via CC